Rangers academy director Mulholland explains how youngsters will make it to first-team

Rangers are hoping to bring through more youth players to the first-team.

Rangers are looking to rebuild their academy system to improve the chances of young players making it to senior football, and head of the academy Craig Mulholland has explained to the official website the plan that is being set in place at Ibrox.

Mulholland said: “What we are looking at from board level down is a succession plan, wherein from the youngest boys at 14 and 15, we look at what positions we need for the first team, and we can then project up what we require. So players have to have aspiration, and it’s about us getting the environment right around about them.”

Mark Warburton, appointed manager over the summer, is well regarded for his work with youth players, and he made it one of his priorities to increase the chance of academy players making it to the first-team.

There is a desire to bring through a new selection of players to build a new era of success at Ibrox, and Mulholland has explained that there is a now a direct link between academy and first-team to ensure that the movement between the two is fluid.

Whenever the senior team need a specific position filled, Warburton can now look to Mulholland’s younger players to promote someone for a defined role, ensuring that opportunities for youth players are always present.

This should create some form of continuity between senior team and academy squad, and mean that Rangers no longer need to have to go out in the transfer window and sign as many players as Rangers did over the summer.

The transfer business was required, but it was hopefully a one-off, and there is no desire to continue this need to buy players every year. To overcome this, Warburton has placed a focus upon bringing up players from the youth teams, and it looks as if the manager has got his priorities right at Ibrox.

Billy Hawkins

Billy is a freelance writer who contributes to various sites concerning football. Known to possess an obsession with statistics, Eastern European club sides, and Victorian football, he focuses upon the untapped potential of the Football League in the belief it is more enjoyable than the Premier League.